10. Na Beans by Terry Tha Rapman

One of the great assets of Terry Tha Rapman is to take everyday pain and struggles and deliver them in a comical way. Being a member of the now defunct SWAT ROOT, Terry remains the group's member who perfectly blends with the Hip Hop crowd and mainstream crowd. Na Beans is the perfect example of this trait. Clever, funny and witty Terry Tha Rapman scored his first national hit.

Trivia- First track where Terry Tha Rapman mentioned the now legendary phrase Boyz Are Not Smiling.

9. Delicious by 2 Shotz & Big Lo

Probably the best rap song by a duo in this country. This song which was crafted by 2 Shotz and Big Lo is one of the main reasons why rap is accepted in Nigeria's mainstream scene. The Igbo-centric rappers took off in 2005 where Junior and Pretty stopped by dropping a hip-hop party jam fused with comic delivery that shook the nation. Delicious with its hunting Igbo flute burnt dance floors from Ikeja to Gusau. In 2006, Big Lo and 2 Shotz were the first recipient of the Hip Hop World Awards as they rightly went home with the Best Collabo award. Shame they later had beef.

Trivia- The popular version of this song is actually the remix. The original Delicious had a much slower beat which can be heard at the beginning of the video.

8. Pon Pon Pon by Da Grin.

While Yoruba rap was nothing new to the country thanks to Lord of Ajasa who is widely regarded as the progenitor of Yoruba rap, Da Grin was the artiste that gave it credibility. The street anthem Pon Pon Pon blazed through the industry without a video. The song produced by arguably Nigeria's best rap producer Sossick was so hard and raw. Millions of people embraced the song's autobiographic hustler tales.Unfortunately Da Grin passed away on the 22nd of April, 2010. Death however promoted him to an immortal status.

7. Ki Ni Big Deal by Naeto C.

Before Naeto C dropped Ki Ni Big Deal on us, a whole lot of people felt he was a rich kid with a foreign accent who couldn't rap. His prior singles Sitting On Top and You Know My P hardly won him any fans either. Well all that changed when he dropped the instant classic Ki Ni Big Deal. The song which was produced by TY Mix changed the perception of Naeto C faster than any international PR firm could. Ki Ni Big Deal is pure eargasm as Naeto C unleashes his best flow till date. Everyone knew that M.I killed 2008 but Ki Ni Big deal was a chink in his armour. The song was so big that it went abroad and this year Wale did his own version of it.



6. Stylee by DJ Jimmy Jatt feat. Mode 9, Tu Face Idibia & Elajoe

When it comes to DJ's in Nigeria, only one is legendary and that is DJ Jimmy Jatt. In 2007 he brought out the first mixtape by a Nigerian and Stylee was the first single. The song was forceful bursting it way into the charts, streets and clubs. Till today this song is a major anthem which boasts of Mode 9's most popular verse and Tu Face at his prime. Heads will never stop rocking to this.

5. Ehen by Rugged Man

Whether you hate him or like him now, one thing is for sure Rugged Man kick started this whole thing. Prior to Rugged Man, wack MCs reigned supreme and real rappers had little or no chance. Tired by the mediocre state of the game Rugged Man released Ehen which was a mega-diss track aimed at the most popular wack rappers of that time- Maintain, Rasqie and the mighty Eedris Abdulkareem. It was what the game needed, eyes were opened and the Nigerian rap scene has fared much better.


4. Safe by M.I

The mass appeal that Crowd Mentality couldn't achieve, Safe did in blistering speed. Wanting you to know that he was an artiste capable of connecting with the masses M.I concocted a song based on all the popular hits at the time which showcased his lyrical dexterity. Everything about the song screams classic from the way M.I lyrically waltzed around the track, Djinee's laugh at the beginning to his hooks [which are not really hooks in the actual fact]. Despite the slick lines, average Nigerians who don't like the rap music know this song word for word.

Trivia- M.I wanted to put Safe on Illegal Music but MEX, Djinee and others begged him to save the song for his debut Talk About It.

3. Oya by Da Trybe

This is arguably Nigeria's hardest posse cut. Da Trybe was made up of Trybesmen and their associates [Sasha, Blaise, 2 Shotz, Del, Timi, Double O, Dr. Sid,]. With eLDee on the beat this posse created a song so mean that it ruled both the streets and the clubs. You can't write the history of Nigerian rap without mentioning this song. Just by the number of artistes on Da Trybe that are relevant till today makes this song a no brainer for the top ten.


2. Elbow Room by Mode 9

Elbow Room is the apex of lyricism in Nigerian rap. Even though this song is 7 years old, it still remains unmatched by any Nigerian rapper. Mode 9 packed punchlines upon punchlines on this song with flawless delivery and menacing flow. Elbow Room was in Mode's Malcolm IX mixtape which some say is his best selling work in Alaba. Mode 9 hands down is Nigeria's best lyricist and Elbow Room is his magnum opus. It made rappers step up their game big time.


1. Shake Bodi- Trybesmen

Every rapper seeks to find the perfect balance between street credibility and mainstream appeal. It is a never ending search for many rappers, only a few have been able to pull it off e.g Notorious B.I.G is a perfect example. In Nigeria, Trybesmen found that holy grail by blending top-notch lyrics with Nigerian lingo and parlance. These three rappers created the DNA that ALL successful Nigerian rappers are using today. They were also able to mix humour in their conscious lyrics. While Eedris and co. took the shine off them in the mainstream, Trybesmen were practically worshipped by Nigeria's underground rap scene at that time. As Nigeria's rap scene develops daily, Trybesmen are now getting their full credit in building the foundation. They were so ahead of their time, maybe that's why they didn't last long as a group.